By Rep Troy Carter
An attack on our small business owners, our working poor, our neighbors with disabilities, families facing food insecurity, people who rely on SNAP, the homeless, and communities burdened by environmental injustice. What is next, President Trump?
We have already seen the assault on health care through the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” that is anything but beautiful.
We have seen the attacks on SNAP benefits that help children, seniors and working families put food on the table.
We have seen the attacks on clean water and clean air through the repeal of protections that helped communities already living with pollution and unequal environmental burdens.
We have seen the attacks on the Affordable Care Act tax credits that allow small business owners and working families to afford basic health coverage.
And now the Trump administration wants to rip housing away from thousands of people who fought their way out of homelessness through programs funded by the federal government and run by agencies like Unity of Greater New Orleans.
This is not accidental. It is a coordinated campaign to slash housing funding and punish homelessness rather than address its root causes.
Through executive orders, the White House has directed federal agencies to increase law enforcement actions against encampments, impose unconstitutional restrictions on federal grantees, and withdraw Department of Housing and Urban Development funding that keeps people housed. The agency has now announced plans to disrupt the long-standing two-year Continuum of Care housing grants that Louisiana depends on.
Unity, which oversees these programs in Orleans and Jefferson parishes, has issued a clear warning that should concern every one of us. If this reckless plan moves forward, more than 4,000 formerly homeless people across Louisiana will be forced out of housing and back onto the streets. That includes more than 2,600 people in Orleans and Jefferson parishes alone.
Last year, Louisiana used about 80 percent of its HUD award to fund permanent supportive housing for people with disabilities experiencing chronic homelessness. The new rules slash that to one third and redirect the rest into temporary housing that does not provide lasting stability. HUD is also cutting the automatic formula funding from 90 percent down to 30 percent. That means parishes that cannot meet the new, unrealistic requirements could lose up to 70 percent of their requested funds to other places.
These changes will create a six-month funding gap starting in early 2026. Programs will close. Staff will be laid off. Providers will not be able to pay rent or continue vital community services. Years of progress will evaporate.
These cuts will push seniors, people with disabilities, and families back onto the streets while doing nothing to address the real driver of homelessness, which is the soaring cost of housing. Instead of investing in solutions, congressional Republicans are pushing even deeper cuts to HUD for next year.
I recently joined my colleagues in Congress in calling on the administration to reverse this plan. More than 20 Republicans sent a similar letter to HUD. When both parties raise the alarm, it is because people’s lives are at stake.
We must end homelessness once and for all. Every community wants that. But this plan will not get us there. It will deepen suffering, create instability, and undo the progress that cities like New Orleans have fought so hard to build.
Our duty is to lift people up, not tear them down. Our job is to create pathways to stability, dignity and opportunity, not take them away. The Trump administration’s approach fails that test in every way.
Troy A. Carter, Sr. represents Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District.